Manhole cover remover



i atented June 10, 1952 MANHOLE COVER REMOVER Herbert K. Price and Edward Montgomery, San Francisco, Calif.

Application June 5, 1948, Serial No. 31,335

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved device for, lifting and moving manhole covers, safety covers, access covers and the like and has particular reference to a specially constructed device for providing a holding and lifting medium for such covers and to thereby reduce the labor required to remove and replace the same.

As is well known, all street sewers are provided with manholes for enabling workmen to enter and do repair work and the like. Covers are provided for closing the manholes and are very heavy and cumbersome and extremely difficult to remove. Inasmuch as vehicles continuously travel over the said covers it is not possible to provide handles which extend above the same. Furthermore, the weight of a manhole cover is such that it is practically impossible for one man to lift the cover off of the opening due to the lack of a proper holding medium. Many types of safety and access covers also lack the provision of a proper holding means. Thus workmen have often been seriously injured by getting their fingers caught beneath the cover or by dropping a cover on their foot or the like.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the present dimculty of removing manhole covers from their openings by providing a bolt or the like in the manhole cover and to further provide a specially constructed lever adapted to engage the head of the bolt, whereby the cover can be readily lifted and dragged away from the manhole.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bolt engaging depending member on one end portion of an elongated lever and a frictional gripping means on another portion thereof to facilitate in lifting and removing the cover in the most efficient manner.

A further object of the present invention is to form the device of a plurality of pipes or sleeves telescopically positioned one in the other and to provide the bolt engaging member and frictional gripping means on the outer pipe.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a manhole cover remover of the character described that is durable, simple in construction, positive in operation, economical to manufacture and highly eflicient and serviceable in use.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification, wherein for the purpose of illustration like numerals designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the improved device, Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View of the device taken on line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in direction of the arrows, and also showing a fragment of a manhole cover and the device connected to the same,

. Fig. 4is a vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig 3 looking in direction ofthearrows,

Fig. 5 is a reduced plan view of a manhole cover, and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational fragmentary view of a modified form of the invention employing a hook adapted tobe used for lifting manhole covers of the gull type.

Referring in detail to the drawing and the numerals thereof, the numeral 8 designatesa piece of pipe forming an outer sleeve of any suitable diameter and length and the numeral 9 a second pipe or sleeve telescopically positioned therein. The numeral I0 designates a manhole cover apertured as at If and recessed as at l2 for receiving the bolt I3, which bolt is pref erably formed with a roundhead l4 and carries a nut l5 substantially welded to the end portion thereof as at IS. The said bolt is of a length necessary to extend through the manhole cover and have sufficient clearance for receiving the hook shaped member H, which member is preferably shaped in the form of a right angle and is welded to the outer sleeve 8 as at l8. The said hook shaped member I! is apertured as at 19 for receiving the head of the bolt and is slotted as at 20 for receiving the body of the bolt, disclosed to advantage in Figs. 1 and 3. The said member her I! thus provides a holding means for engaging the bolt beneath the head to facilitate in lifting the manhole cover.

A gripper or foot 2|, formed of a non-slipping substantial material such as rubber or leather or a composition combined of rubber and fabric is secured to a supporting plate 22 by suitable screws 23, the said plate being crimped to the front and rear edges of said foot and provided with a pair of upwardly extending oppositely disposed side walls 24 and 25, providing a channel shaped supporting member capable of receiving thewouter end portion of the outer sleeve 8, which sleeve is pivotally secured to the said side walls 24 .and 25 by a suitable bolt 26 carrying a lock nut 21 as disclosed to advantage in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The bottom portion of the said foot 2| is preferably formed with a plurality of spaced teeth 28, which teeth provide a non-slipping gripping medium for bracing the outer end portion of the sleeve 8 when lifting the manhole cover. The inner sleeve 9 is provided with a suitable handle 29 as disclosed to advantage in Fig. 1 and is apertured as at 30. 3| and 32 for receiving the bolt 33, which bolt extends through the aperture 34 in the outer sleeve 8 as disclosed to advantage in Fig. 3, whereby the two sleeves 8 and 9 are capable. of being locked one to the other and retained in their extended or retracted positions. A small chain or the like 35 serves for retaining the bolt 33 on the outer sleeve 8.

From the foregoing description taken in con- Junction with the accompanying drawing it. will be observed that the head M of'the bolt I3 normally rests in the recess 12 and can be easily lifted therefrom and the slotted hookmember I? placed beneath the head as disclosed to advantage in Fig. 3 when itis desired to lift the manhole cover 18 and drag the same off of the manhole opening. The inner sleeve sis extended to an outer position and the pivotally secured gripper 2| is preferably positioned on the manhole cover, whereby a leverage can readily be exerted on the head of the bolt for lifting the cover. The numeral 38 designates an aperture in the bolt for'accommodating a nail or'the like to facilitate in lifting the bolt out of the recess [2.

The view illustrated in Fig. discloses to advantage a modified form of the invention particularly adapted for accommodating manhole 'covers of the grill type. This modified form of the invention embodies the same construction as that set forth in the preferred form of the invention with the exception of the hook 31, which hook'is linked to the ring 38, the said ring being welded-to the outer sleeve 8, as at 39, shown to advantage in Fig. 6,' and is adapted to engage the bars of the grillitype manhole cover to facilitate in removing the cover from the opening.

It is to be understood that the formof our invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relativeto the shape, size,

material and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

In combination with a manhole cover having a bolt therein, a device of the character described comprising an elongated sleeve, a second sleeve telescopically positioned therein, a plurality of apertures through the walls of each sleeve; a pin capable of being projected'through said apertures for adjustably securing the sleeves one to the other, a handle member fixed to an end portion of the second sleeve, a foot member pivotally secured to the opposite end portion of the first mentioned sleeve, a resilient rubber bottom portion having a roughened outer surface fixed to the said foot member and adapted to be placed against the top surface of the manhole cover, a depending angular shaped member fixed to the first mentioned sleeve and spaced from. the said foot member, the said depending angular shaped member havingan opening inthe' bottom portion thereof capable of receivin'g theheadiof;

the bolt and'a narrowed openingext'endingfrom the bolt head receiving opening, whereby the bottom surfacev of. the bolt head is engaged by the said angular shaped member to facilitate the lifting and moving of the. cover.

HERBERT K. PRICE; EDWARD MONTGOMERY.

REFERENCES; CITED.

The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name. Date 305,670 Christie Sept. 23, 1884. 1,211,233 Rhonemus- Jan. 2, 1917, 1,550,894 Erickson Aug. 25, 1925. 117%,471 Moore Mar. 3'; 1931 2,244,988 Fuller- June. 10,". I941 

